Gas-o-pump



D. COCEANO GAS-O-PUMP 3 Sfieets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 28, 1958 EM no n Z Mm w Z M m M m m m m n 2 E J j ll lfllllllbw IIIPIJILIM. a 7 m "Elia u Z l 3 D. COCEANO Dec. 22, 1959 GAS-O-PUMP Hm I e lNVE/VFOE D MEN/CO COCEHNO United States Patent GAS-O-PUMP Domenico Coceano, Levittown, Pa.

Application February 28, 1958, Serial No. 718,383

Claims. (Cl. 21950) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the United States Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates generally to high temperature pumps and, more particularly, to a pump that may be efficiently used for pumping and if desirable heating a liquid simultaneously.

w Future high performance nuclear and nonnuclear aircraft or missiles require components and systems which must be capable of operating at extreme high temperatures. To develop these components and systems, high temperature studies must be conducted to predict the compatibility and performance of such equipment. To conduct such studies, a need existed for a high temperature pump capable of pumping various liquids up to a temperature of 1800 F.

In addition to the above requirement, it has 'also been determined that a pump capable of operating at temperatures up to 1800 F. involves the solution of at least two highly diflicult problems. These problems are oxidation and extremely low working stress of materials utilized in the construction of said pump. The pump of the instant invention presents a successful solution to the abovemeutioned two problems and, at the same time, effects successful pumping characteristics.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a pump adapted for use in a high temperature forced convection loop.

It is a further object of the invention to utilize a pump system that can simulate the core of a nuclear reactor and thus pump heated liquid or liquid metal through a system which incorporates a heat exchanger to provide the cooling means for the core.

A still further object of the invention utilizes an improved pump capable of operating at temperatures up to 1800 F. without significant losses in efliciency or adverse eifects in its performance.

Another object of the invention resides in a unique and novel pump having no moving parts and thus eliminating the usual stresses due to acceleration forces, and reduce stresses by equalizing the working pressure.

A further object of the pump of the present invention is in the substantial elimination of oxidation at the extreme temperatures by the enclosing of the pump in a container under inert gas pressure.

An additional object of the invention is in a pump having simple and yet unique automatic means for assuring uniform flow.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts in the several figures.

Fig. 1 is a partially broken away top view of the pump of the present invention, illustrating details of the upper liquid and-gas lines utilized with the inner tanks.

Patented Dec. 22, 1959 Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken about on line 22 of Fig. 1, illustrating additional details of the inner tanks relative to the main outer tank and the lower liquid lines for admitting liquid into the bottom of said inner tanks.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the basic sequence of operation of the inner tanks as a function of time.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the overall pump system of the invention and a schematic representation of the wiring diagram of the control circuits utilized with the pump of the invention.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4 of the drawings, the gas-o-pump (hereinafter referred to simply as a pump) of the present invention is enclosed within the area indicated by dotted lines and consists of three inner tanks 1, 2, and 3 connected in circuit in a manner to be hereinafter explained. It is to be pointed out that said three inner tanks 1, 2, and 3 are actually positioned in a main outer tank as will be explained hereinafter. Tank 1 incorporates an upper electrical probe 4 and a lower electrical probe 5 which probes 4, 5 are in circuit with the relay 6 which, in turn, is in circuit with and controls the solenoid 7. The latter is utilized to control the introduction of high pressure gas into tank 1 and the discharge of the same gas under low pressure out of tank 1 in a manner and for a purpose to be hereinafter described in more detail. As seen clearly in said Fig. 4, the lower electrical probe 5 is electrically connected to one of the switch contacts indicated at 6a of the relay 6 whereas the upper electrical probe 4 is connected to a 24 volt D.C. power source. In the same manner, inner tanks 2 and 3 have, respectively, upper and lower probes 8, 9 and 11, 12 electrically connected, respectively, to their relays 13 and 14 and the same 24 volt D.C. power source. Said relays 13 and 14 are, in turn, electrically connected to the solenoids 15 and 16, respectively, controlling the admission and discharge of gas into and out of inner tanks 2 and 3. It is these electrical probes which alternately indicate when the liquid level in a particular inner tank either reaches the top or the bottom of the tank. It is noted that it has been determined that said electrical probes are modified, special high temperature spark plugs which are mounted in raised, offset relation to the top of each inner tank to prevent shorting out of the electrical insulation by liquid or vapor condensation formed on the inside of each inner tank. This feature improves the reliability of operation of each electrical probe and thereby prevents disruption of the correct sequence of operation between inner tanks. In addition, inner tanks 1, 2 and 3 have upper and lower liquid lines consisting. of upper tubes 17, 18 and 19, respectively, and lower tubes 20, 21 and 22, respectively, in communication with. the top and bottom of each tank. Said liquid may consist of any appropriate liquid or liquid metal, if desired. Each of said upper and lower liquid lines incorporates. an upper and a lower ball check valve indicated respec-- tively at 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 which check valves are: shown in more detail in Fig. 2 of the drawings and are specially designed to operate at temperatures up to 1800 F. which are the temperatures at.which the pump of the present invention is designed to operate. For purposes of simplicity, the schematic view of Fig. 4 illustrates that the upper and lower tubes 1722 are attached and are in.- communication with a main upper and lower header respectively indicated at 29 and 32; however, a more detailed showing of the actual attachments thereof is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. At any rate, liquid is ultimately sequentially pumped out of the top of each of tanks 1, 2 and 3 in accordance with detailed operation thereof to be described in detail hereinafter in the direcs tion indicated by the arrows into the upper header 29 to the upper portion of the main loop 30 through a test unit 31 and then returned to the bottom of each tank as clearly shown in Fig. 4 through the lower portion of main loop 30 into the lower header 32 which is in communication with the lower lines 20, 21 and 22. Thus, the liquid being pumped as indicated above flows through a completely closed loop as indicated at 30. It is noted that the test unit 31 may consist of any component or system undergoing high temperature studies. For purposes of simplicity, only said test unit 31 will be hereinafter described with specific reference to a heat exchanger.

Each of said inner tanks 1, 2 and 3 has a gas line indicated respectively at 33, 34 and 35 for the introduction of high pressure gas and the discharge of low pressure gas into and out of the top of each tank. Said gas lines 33, 34 and 35 are respectively attached to and are in communication with the previously mentioned solenoids 7, 15, and 16 which solenoids 7, 15, and 16 are, in turn, connected to a common gas supply line 36 and a common gas discharge line 37. Saidgas may be any inert gas, as for example, helium or argon. Each of said solenoids 7, 15 and 16 incorporates a pair of valves (not shown) connected respectively to the gas supply line and the gas discharge line. In the normal position, the valve connection of said solenoids 7, 15 and 16 to the common gas discharge line 37 is open while their connection to the common gas supply line 36 is closed. The operation of the above described pump will be described in detail hereinafter.

With particular reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, it is clearly shown that the previously mentioned inner tanks 1, 2 and 3 are mounted within a relatively large outer tank indicated at 38. Said outer tank 38 incorporates a top cover 39 sealed to the side walls thereof. In addition, the cover 39 and the bottom surface 38a of outer tank 33 respectively incorporate openings indicated at 39a for the passage thereinto of opposite sides 30a, 30b of the main loop 30. Said loop portions 30a and 30b are each resiliently held in said openings 39a by means of a bellows type expansion joint indicated generally at 43, the bellows being welded as shown to loop portions 39a and 30b to provide or compensate for uneven mechanical and/or thermal expansion. The upper header 29 previously described with reference to the schematic view of Fig. 4 of the drawings actually consists of three separate tube portions 29a, 29b and 29c, respectively, attached to upper liquid lines 17, 18 and 19 of tanks 1, 2 and 3 and brought together at their upper ends into a common upper manifold or manifold fitting 41 which manifold fitting 41 is in communication with the upper loop portion 300 of main loop 30. In the same manner, the lower loop portion 30b of main loop 30 is in communication with a common lower manifold or manifold fitting 42 which lower manifold 42 is attached to the lower ends of three separate lower liquid lines 32a, 32b and 320, respectively, in communication with lower liquid lines 20, 21 and 22.

The pumping system described above may be interchangeably utilized to pump either cooling or heated fluid or liquid through the system or main loop 30 depending on whether it is desired to simulate the core of a nuclear reactor and thereby test the cooling effect of the inventive pump or whether it is desired to utilize said system in the normal manner. In any event, the present inventive pump is designed and has actually been tested to perform efficiently at temperatures up to 1800 F. If it is desired to utilize the present pump as a means of pumping liquid metal or other liquids at extreme temperatures, each of said inner tanks 1, 2 and 3 may be provided with a heating element indicated generally at 43 in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawing. Heating elements 43 may be of the clam-shell type and may include, for example, either three or four arcuate segments surrounding and extending the full length of each tank; however, the particular type of heating element is unimportant to the present invention, except for the fact that the liquid can be heated by the pump to any desired temperature up to 1800 F. In order to introduce a current into heating elements 43, a plurality of spark plugs indicated at 44 in Fig. 1 of the drawings may be utilized, however, electrical probes or any other desired means may be incorporated. As clearly seen in the schematic illustration of Fig. 4 of the drawings, heating elements 43 incorporate coils which are in circuit with a 220 volt AC. power source under control of a powerstat in order to regulate the heat input into the liquid.

With specific reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings, a diagram of the basic sequential operation of the pump of the present invention is illustrated after the pump has been initially actuated. In order to start the inventive pump, however, inner tank 3 is filled to capacity with the liquid or liquid metal to be pumped, tank 2 is filled approximately to one-half its capacity and tank 1 is practically empty. Of course, it is understood that it is un-' important as to which tank is filled or which tank is halffilled or which tank is empty in order to start the operation of the inventive pump. To start the pump, relay 14 for tank 3 is actuated manually, as for example by a push-button (not shown since it is unimportant to the present invention). This actuation of relay 14 closes the circuit (note Fig. 4) to energize solenoid 16 which solenoid 16 then. operates to close its connection to gas discharge line 37 and open its connection to gas supply line 36 to introduce gas under high pressure into the top of tank 3 by way of the gas line 35. Since the lower check valve 28 is arranged to prevent any flow of liquid out of the bottom of tank 3, the liquid therein is forced by said high pressure gas upwardly through the liquid line 19 and upper check valve 27 into the upper liquid line 290. The flow of liquid continues to the common upper manifold 41 where it flows upwardly through the upper portion 30a of main loop 30 due to the arrangement of upper check valves 23 and 25, respectively, of tanks 1 and 2. Said liquid continues flowing through main loop 30 to the heat exchanger 31 where heat is extracted therefrom and thus, the cooler liquid flows into the lower portion 30b of main loop 30 from whence it enters the lower manifold 42. Due to the arrangement of the lower check valves 24 and 26, respectively, of inner tanks 1 and 2, said liquid flows into the bottom of said tanks 1 and 2 which tanks then begin to store the liquid. This initial operation continues with the high pressure gas being applied to force or feed liquid out of tank 3 into tanks 1 and 2 in the manner described above until the level of liquid therein drops below its lower probe 12 at which time the electrical circuit with the coil of relay 14 is broken, deenergizing the relay'l4 and the solenoid 16. Deenergization of solenoid 16, then shuts off the supply of gas under pressure to tank 3 and opens its connection to the gas discharge line 37 permitting the gas in tank 3 to bleed out therethrough under low pressure. This latter operation, then shifts tank 3 from feed to store. Of course, prior to the time that the liquid in tank 3 is exhausted to the extent necessary to break contact with lower electrical probe 12, tank 2, which has been storing for approximately one-half the time that tank 3 has been feeding, has filled to the point where its upper electrical probe 8 has made contact with the liquid therein to close a circuit to the coil of relay 13 which coil operates in the same manner as described above in the operation of tank 3 to energize the solenoid 15 which, in turn, introduces high pressure gas into the top of tank 2 through gas line 34. This then changes or switches the operation of tank 2 from store to feed and, as shown clearly in said Fig. 3 both tanks 2 and 3 are now feeding together for relatively short period. Therefore, at 1:1 the high pressure gas introduced in said tank 2 is, likewise, forcing the liquid therein upwardly through upper liquid line 18 and top thereof f'byfmea'ns of gas line 33.

Fig.3) high pressure gas was introduced into tank 2 which operation switched the latter from store to feed and solenoid 7 of tank 1; is deenergized to permit gas therein to discharge out of low pressure. At t=t tank-'3 'will switch from feed to store since, at this timefthe liquidtherein has been exhausted to such a point .as'to break contact with bottom probe 12 and thereby "deenergize'solenoid 16 in a manner previously described. Deene'rgizat-ion of solenoid 16 shuts off the .high pressuregas ,to tank 3 and permits the gas to bleed out ata low pressure. Now, tank 2 is .feeding and tanks 1 and '3 are storing. Next, at 2:2 tank 1 switches from storing to feeding since contact has been made between the rising liquid therein and its top probe 4' to energize solenoid 7 in the same manner as described abovelto introduce .high pressure gas into the This forces the liquid in said tank 1 upwardly through" upper liquid linel17 and upper check valve 23 through liquid line 29a" into common upper manifold 41 and upwardly into main loop 30. From main loop 39, this liquid being pumped out of tank' 1 flows through heat exchanger 31 and continues its circuit into common lower manifold '42. Since, at this time, tank 2 is also feeding and tank 3 is'sto'ring', liquid from both tanks 1 and 2 flows into the bottom of tank 3 through its lower liquid line 28. Finally,'-at t=f tank 2 switches from feed to store due: to the interruption of the electrical contact between bottom probe 9 and the liquid therein to deenergize solenoid 15 in the samemanner previously described to shut off the high pressure gas supply from the main supply 'line36 and p'ermit discharge of said gas at a low pressure through the gas discharge line 37 by way of gas line' 34. At this time, tank 1 is feeding and tanks 2 and 3 are storing. It is seen, therefore, that the pump of the present invention assures acontinuous flow of-liquid, since" at all times, at least one tank is feeding or pumping liquid through the system even when two of the'tanks'are switching from feed to store and vice versa. The above described sequence of operation *ofthe inventive pump continues automatically to apply a continuous flow of liquid through the system. The relays 6, 13 and 14 are utilized to hold their respective solenoids 7, l and 16 energized to pump liquid out of inner tanks 1, 2 and 3 once they have been energized by electrical contact between the liquid and the top p"robes"4, '8 and ll of said inner tanks 1, 2 and 3 even though this contact has been interrupted. In addition, a' double safety feature has been built into the present pump as clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This safety feature-involves the incorporation of a vapor separator indicated at 45, 46 and 47, respectively, in the gas lines 33, 34 and 35 of tanks 1, 2 and 3. Said apor separators 45, 46 and 47 are utilized to separate any of the entrained liquid and/or vapor that may be carried with the gas being bled out through said gas lines 33, 34 and 35 for discharge out the gas discharge line 37 during sequential operation of the pump of the present invention. In addition, each of said vapor separators 45, 46, 47 may. incorporate an electrical probe indicated at 48, 4,9 and 50, respectively, inserted to a predetermined amount in each separator and electrically connected as shown in Fig. 4 to a safety relay 51 having normally closed contacts. Therefore, any of the liquid or liquid metal which may not have been fully extracted from the gas in any one of the vapor separators 45, 46 and 47 will make contact with one or the other of said elec-tricalj probes 48, 49, 50 closing a circuit to the safety relay 51 to open its normally closed contacts and thereby deenergize all of the operating relays 6, 13 and 14 which, in turn, deenergizes solenoids 7, 15 and 16 to equalize the pressure in all three inner tanks 1, 2 and 3 and thus stop operation of the pump.

Thus, there has been developed by the device of the present invention a new and improved pump capable ofoperating at extremely high temperatures over extreme ranges of working loads with very high efficiency and anytype of liquid, excellent pressure and flow control, unaffected by cavitation or vapor locks, and with little or no moving parts. In addition, flow rate can be determined by measuring the time required to complete one cycle of operation o-f'the pump eliminating the use of flow meters in the force convection loop, Flow rate of liquid is easily controlled by controlling the pressure difference between the high pressure and discharge pres-v sure of the helium or argon or other inert gas. Further-' more, the static pressure of the loop or system can be controlled without changing the flow rate of the liquid.

I claim: t

1. A high temperature pump comprising a relatively large outer tank, a plurality of relatively small inner tanks positioned within said outer tank, an upper and a lower electrical probe positioned in each of said inner tanks, an operating relay electrically connected with the upper and lower electrical probes positioned in each of said inner tanks, a solenoid for electrical connection to each of said relays, a. pair of upper and lower liquid lines in respective communication with the top and bottom of each of said inner tanks, a common upper manifold in communication with said upper liquid lines, a common lower manifold in communication with said lower liquid lines, a check valve between each of said upper and lower liquid lines and said upper and lower manifolds controlling the direction of liquid flow from the top of a selected one of said tanks to the bottom of the other of said tanks, and a main loop having a test unit incorporated therein in communication with and between said upper and lower liquid lines and manifolds for circulating cooling liquid therebetween for storing liquid being fed from said selected one of said plurality of inner tanks in at least one of the other of said tanks.

2. A high temperature liquid pump comprising a first relatively small tank filled to capacity with liquid to be pumped, a second relatively small tank filled to one-half capacity with said liquid and a. third relatively small tank substantially empty of the liquid to be pumped, and communicating means between said tanks and between the tops and bottoms thereof switching the flo-w of said liquid between a predetermined pair of said tanks and controlling the flow of liquid between the top and bot tom of said tanks through a cooling system, said means comprising an upper liquid line inserted at one end thereof in the top of each tank and receiving liquid under pressure, an upper manifold in common communication with the opposite, upper ends of said upper liquid lines receiving said liquid under pressure, a lower liquid line inserted at its upper end into the bottoms of each tank and directing liquid under pressure thereinto, a lower manifold in common communication with the opposite, lower ends of said lower liquid lines, an upper ball check valve between each of said upper liquid lines and said upper manifold preventing flow of liquid into the tops of said tanks, a lower ball check valve between each of said lower liquid lines and said lower manifold directing the flow of liquid into the bottom of said tanks, a gas line in communication with the top of each tank, a relayactuated solenoid for each tank in communication with each of said gas lines alternately directing the flow of a compressed inert gas into the top of each tank at predetermined intervals, an upper electrical probe positioned in each of said tanks energizing a predetermined relay- IIliililMiitni, u with ll he,

actuated solenoid to introduce a supply of compressed inert gas into a selected tank when the liquid level in said tank is in contact with said upper electrical probe, and a lower electrical probe positioned in each of said tanks deenergizing said predetermined relay-actuated solenoid to cut off the supply of compressed inert gas into said selected tank when the liquid level in said tank is out of contact with said lower electrical probe, and a main closed loop line incorporating a heat exchanger in communication between said upper manifold and said lower manifold delivering liquid being pumped alternately from the top of one of said tanks to store by way of the bottom of at least one of the remaining tanks depending on the respective liquid levels in said tank.

3. A high temperature liquid pump as in claim 2, and a relatively large outer tank, hermetically sealed and enclosing said relatively small tanks, the interior of said outer tank being substantially free of oxygen to materially reduce the amount of oxidation of said relatively small tanks and allied components positioned inside said large outer tank.

4. In a high temperature liquid pump, a plurality of relatively small inner tanks each containing a predetermined amount of liquid to be pumped and adapted to receive high pressure gas at periodic intervals to selectively pump liquid from a respective tank, and a relatively large outer tank enclosing said inner tanks. said outer tank being hermetically sealed and containing an inert gas under pressure in contact with the outside walls of said inner tank to substantially counteract the stress produced on said inner tank by the pressure inside said tanks to facilitate the operation of said pump at high pressure under high temperature conditions.

5. In a high temperature liquid pump as in claim 4, and a heat exchanger in communication with the tops and bottoms of said inner tanks receiving the liquid being pumped, said inner tanks incorporating means for heating the liquid being pumped through the heat exchanger, said means comprising a plurality of electrically activated heating elements positioned in surrounding, spaced relation to each of said inner tanks, a plurality of spark plugs mounted in extending relation through the circumferential walls of said outer tank for electrical interconnection with each of said plurality of heating elements, and a main power source electrically interconnected with each of said spark plugs under control of an adjustable powerstat for regulation of the temperature of each of said heating elements.

6. In a high temperature liquid pump, a plurality of tanks containing varying amounts ofliquid to be pumped, means insuring sequential pumping of liquid from said plurality of tanks, said means comprising a normally open contact relay for each of said tanks in operable relation thereto, a normally open solenoid electrically interconnected to each of said relays, a source of inert gas supply in communication with and under control of each of said solenoids, a gas discharge line in communication with and under control of each of said solenoids, a gas supply line between each of said solenoids and a respective one of said plurality of tanks, and a pair of electrical probes extending respectively into the upper and lower portions of each tank and electrically interconnected to a corresponding relay and a source of power, said upper electrical probe indicating the uppermost liquid level in a corresponding tank to make circuit therewith to close the relay connected thereto and energize a respective solenoid to release inert gas under pressure into the top of a corresponding tank, said lower electrical probe indicating the lowermost liquid level in a corresponding tank to break a circuit therewith to open when, .M

said relay and deenergize the solenoid connected theretoand bleed inert gas under low pressure out of the top of said tank into said gas discharge line, and safety means in cooperation with each of said tanks for preventing any liquid from escaping out of the corresponding tank when gas is bled out at low pressure through said gas discharge line, said safety means comprising a vapor separator positioned between the respective gas line for each of said tanks and each of said solenoids, a safety electrical probe inserted in the top of and positioned to a predetermined depth in each of said vapor separators, and a common safety relay electrically interconnected to a power source and said first-named relays in circuit with each of said safety electrical probes, said safety relay having normally open contacts, closed on contact between the safety probe and any entrained liquid or vapor in any one of said vapor separators to open the circuits to all of said first-named relays deenergizing all of said solenoids to equalize the pressure in all of said tanks and stop operation of the pump.

7. A high temperature pump for pumping liquid metal through a closed loop having a heat exchanger comprising a hermetically sealed outside container filled with an inert gas under pressure, a plurality of inner containers positioned in spaced relation inside said outside container and containing predetermined amounts of liquid metal, means for admitting gas under pressure into said inner containers at predetermined intervals and forcing the liquid metal therein out of said inner container into said closed loop, and electrical means for sequentially controlling the introduction of said gas under pressure into said inner containers and maintaining a continuousconstant flow of liquid metal in said closed loop.

8. A high temperature pump for pumping liquid metal as in claim 7, said first-named means comprising a relatively small gas tube opening into the top of each inner tank, and solenoid means in communication between said gas tube and inert gas supply and discharge lines, said solenoid means normally open to permit communication between said gas tube and said gas discharge line and automatically movable to a closed position to introduce compressed gas from said gas supply line into said gas tube in accordance with the level of liquid metal in said inner containers.

9. A high temperature pump for pumping liquid metal as in claim 7, said electrical means comprising a first pair of electrical contacts positioned at the uppermost level of liquid metal in each of said inner containers, a second pair of electrical contacts positioned at the lowermost lever of said liquid metal, in each of said inner tanks, a normally open relay in circuit with each of said upper pair of contacts, a main power source in circuit with each of said lower pair of contacts, and a solenoid in circuit with each of said relays for each inner container, said solenoids automatically energized by a respective relay to introduce high pressure gas into a respective inner container in accordance with the level of liquid metal therein making or breaking circuit with either the respective upper or lower pair of contacts.

10. A high temperature pump for pumping liquid metal as in claim 7, and electrical heater means positioned in surrounding spaced relation to each of said inner containers for heating liquid or liquid metal up to 1800" F.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,994,838 Sivoboda et al. Mar. 19, 1935 69,941 Stafford Feb. 23, 1954 2, 3 82 Bell Sept. 7, l954 278L369 Werner Feb. 19, 1957 

